Gujranwala (Asif Nazir): On May 30, 2017 Tuesday, Coronation ceremony of our blessed Mother Mary was held in St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Gujranwala. The Holy Mass was presided over by His Grace, Archbishop Sebastian Francis Shaw, Archbishop of Lahore, who was assisted by Fr. Francis Chaman, Parish Priest and Fr. Tariq George, Assistant Priest at St. Joseph’s Parish Gujranwala.

The organizer of this program was a very active and enthusiastic priest in Archdiocese of Lahore, Fr. Francis Chaman, Parish Priest of St. Joseph’s Parish, Gujranwala. Fr. Francis was assisted by the organizing committee and Youth Group of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Gujranwala. The organizers and youth group worked very hard, day and night, under the zealous leadership of Fr. Francis Chaman, to make this program a success.

St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, Gujranwala is one of the 26 Parishes of the Archdiocese of Lahore. It is situated approximately 80 kms west of Lahore which is the Provincial Capital of Punjab, Pakistan. This is one of the oldest mission stations of Archdiocese of Lahore founded by the great Capuchins missionaries from Belgium in 1953. The Parish consists of 350 rural and 30 urban localities scattered in different areas.

The program was organized at St. Joseph’s College Gujranwala. Dominic Sisters, Sisters of Charity and a number of catechists assisted in the preparation of the liturgy and decoration of the Altar. A squad of Punjab Police diligently performed their duty to keep the area secure. Parish Youth assisted the Police with the security arrangements. The Parishioners were much excited on the day of Mother Mary.

The Eucharistic celebration started at 7.00pm and ended at 8.30pm. Fr. Francis Chaman welcomed His Grace, with the Pastoral team and parishioners. There were almost 2500-parishioners who attended the Mass.

Archbishop Sebastian Shaw from Lahore gave the homily. He said that today it is a pleasant day for all of us. He thanked the Lord for His people’s faith and devotion and praised Him for His blessings for all the people present at the occasion. He prayed to God to grant everyone present the virtues of His dear Mother, Mary.

His Grace quoted St. Bernard and said “Mary’s “YES” was very important for the salvation of mankind. When the angle came to Mary to ask for Her wish, at the same time numerous angles were praying to God that He may give Mary the courage to accept the mission of God.”

Mary’s religious upbringing and her faithfulness to God has set an example for all of us. He said that it is our responsibility to educate and bring up our children with the same faith and help them follow the footsteps of Mary, so that they may always be willing to serve God and fulfil His Mission.

He encouraged everyone to promise God to fulfil His mission by actions and deeds. He asked everyone not to hate or envy others.

“Her example at the Wedding at Cana showed us how to approach the Lord with complete trust. We’ve learned how much Mary desires us to follow the will of her Son. Who would have thought all that could come from two short sentences in a simple story? If you take the time to pray through the mysteries of the rosary, I guarantee you’ll find some pretty life changing stuff hiding between the lines as she always helps us to solve our problems” He concluded.

After the Holy Mass, children of St. Mary’s English High School performed a tableau on a Gospel song of Mother Teresa “Teri Mamta ki Chhaya Mein”. Sisters’ of Charity helped the children with the preparations. Coronation was done by Ch. Javed Bhatti & family.

At the end Fr. Francis Chaman said that not only is Mary the mother of the King, she is the most highly favored daughter of God the Father and the Spouse of God the Holy Spirit. She always obeyed God and was humble before Him. Mary received the promised “never fading crown of glory” because her life so perfectly resembled that of her Son’s and because she shared in all His sufferings. 1-Peter 5:4

He thanked all the parishioners, Catholic Church, Rahwali Choir, police officials, and Rescue-1122.